Mechanism for sewing mattresses



May 10, 1932. J. F. GAIL MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES Filed Sept. 20, 1928 Shets-Sheet 1 May 10, 1932. I J. F. GAIL 1,857,371

MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES Filed Sept. 20, 1928 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 -May 10, 1932. J. F. GAIL 1,857,371

MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES I Filed Sept. 20, 1928 "'7 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 10, 1932. J. F. GAIL MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept 20, 1928 mm W May 10, 1932. J. F. GAIL 1,857,371

MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES Filed Sept. 20, 1928 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 mam J/ZJLI- GLLLL 1? fax, a hu fwwfi I May 10, 1932.

J. F. GAIL MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESSES Filed Sept. 20, 1928 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 May 10, 1932. J. F. GAIL I MECHANISM FOR SEWING MATTRESS ES Filed Sept J20, 1928 I l r Patented May 10, 1932 "UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE JOHN F. GAIL, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGR TO SIMMONS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A COBPCYRATION OF DELAWARE MECHANISM: FOR SEWING MATTRESSES Application filed. September 20, 1928. Serial No. 307,220.

This invention relates to mechanism for sewing mattresses, and more particularly to mechanism for stitching the top and bottom covering sheets of ticking material to the ,5 border strip of ticking.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a machine for effecting said sewing; to provide a machine of the class described, having improved means for supporting the mattress while the sewing machine proper is actuated to stitch the ticking parts together; to provide improved means for mounting the sewing machine proper so that it may be continuously propelled around the periphery of said mattress-supporting means and actuated to stitch said ticking parts together; to provide means for propelling the sewing machine around the mattress; to provide means for automatically controlling the speed of travel of the sewin machine, said means being operative to retard the speed of travel and also the stitching speed of the sewing machine in certain predetermined zones in the path of travel thereof; to provide means whereby the sewing machine proper may be shifted around the periphery of the mattress independently of said propelling means; to provide improved means for starting and stopping the sewing machine proper; and, in general, it is the object of my invention to provide an improved machine of the class described.

Other objects of the invention will be understood by reference to the following speeification and accompanying drawings in which I have illustrated one form of machine for practicing the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the left-hand end of Fig. 1.

' Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. at is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on an enlarged scale on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a section on an enlarged scale on the line 66 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, but showing certain parts in a changed position.

Figs. 8 and 9 are sections on the lines 8-8 and 9-9, respectively, on Fig. 5.

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the construction of a mattress, the

ticking parts of which are adapted to be stitched together by my improved machine, and

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section of a mattress showing the ticking parts as they appear when sewed together by my improved machine, the thickness of said ticking parts and also of other parts being exaggerated to promote clarity of illustration.

Fig. 12 is a perspective of a tape-folding device and guide forming a part of the sewing mechanism.

Fig. 13 is a perspective illustrating the method of folding the tape.

Fig. 14 is a diagrammatic plan showing the method of sewing the mattress parts together.

In the drawings, I have shown a substantially rectangular main supporting frame 15 which includes supporting legs 17-18 at each corner, each of which legs is provided with a top end wall or member 16. On the top member 16 of the legs is mounted a vertically adjustable two-position table 19 which is operative to support a mattress structure, while a sewing machine proper, indicated at 20, is actuated and propelled around the mattress to stitch together the adjacent edges of the top face or covering sheet of ticking material and the border strip.

The table 19 is adjustably mounted on the top of the main frame by means of a plurality of pairs of brackets 21 and 22 respectively secured to the adjustable table top 19 and top members 16 of the legs, and bell cranks 23, one arm 24 of each of the bell cranks being pivotally connected to the pairs of brackets 21 and 22, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The other arms 25 of the bell cranks are connected together by means of link rods 26 which are pivotally connected at their opposite ends, as shown in Fig. 1, to the lower ends of oppositely disposed bell cranks.

As clearly shown in Fig. l, I prefer to provide two pairs of the above-described bell crank supports for the table 19, each support being preferably located adjacent one of the corners of the table 19, which is preferably shaped to correspond with the sh pe of the mattress, which is rectangular and, in this instance, provided with rounded corners. The link rods 26 preferably connect bell cranks disposed at opposite ends of the table 19, and the bell cranks disposed at the same end of the table are preferably connected. together by means of shafts 27 so that the bell cranks will turn in unison. It will be understood that all of the su porting bell cranks are thus connected toget ier so that they rock about their axes in unison. Hence the table may. be raised from its lowermost position, as shown in Fig. 2, to its elevated or uppermost position, as shown in Fig. 1, by simply applying suflicient lifting force to any selected part of the table. Suitable mechanism may readily be provided for effecting such Vertical adjustment of the table, but in the present instance I prefer to effect such adjustment manually, it being only necessary for the operator of the machine to lift on the table at any conveniently accessible marginal portion thereof.

For locking the two-position table 19 in its uppermost position, I provide a. latch bar 28 which is pivotally mounted in one of the link rods 26, as shown at 29, the said latch member 28 being provided with a notch 30 which is adapted to drop over the edge 31 of a bracket 32 as shown in Fig. 1. The bracket 32 is secured to one of the top parts 16 in any suitable manner. A tension spring 33 connected between the lower end of one of the bell crank arms 25 and a pin 34 secured to the main frame serves to normally urge the table to move downwardly to its lowermost position. lVhen the table is to be moved to its lowermost position from its elevated position as in 1, the latch 28 may be raised so as to free the notch 30 from the edge of the bracket 31, thereby to permit the link rod 26 to move to the left in Fig. 1 so that the bell cranks 23 will rock in a clockwise direction whereby the table will move to its said lowermost position. In its lowermost position, the table is supported by resting directly on the tops of the brackets 22, as shown in Fig. 2. Vear plates, such as shown at 35, may be provided for preventing wearing of the table 19 by engagement of the tops of the said brackets, it being understood that the table 19 need not be of metal construction but may conveniently be of wood or other comparatively light-weight material. By an inspection. of Figs. 1 and 2, it will be seen that the bell cranks are so positioned that there is but slight horizontal shifting movement of the table 19 during its vertical adjustment, and so that the final adjusted positions, that is, the uppermost and lowermost positions, of the table 19 are in substantially vertical alignment.

The sewing machine proper, 20, i. e., the sewing machine head, is preferably of any well known construction and includes a reciprocating needle bar 160 and a presser foot 86 which is vertically adjustably mounted in the head and controlled by means of a rock lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the head. One end of the rock lever 37 is connected to the presser foot so that rocking movement of the lever will raise or lower the presser foot, and the other end of the rock lever is connected by means of a rod 38 to the outer end of a lever 39 which is secured to a rock shaft 40, the latter being mounted in a bracket 41. The rock shaft 40 extends through the bracket 41, as shown in Fig. 2, and on the other end of the shaft :1 hand lever 42 is mounted for facilitating manual adjustment of the presser foot. A treadle which is pivotally mounted as shown at H on the lower end of an auxiliary frame member 45, connected by means of rods 46 and 17 to the hand lever 12 so that the presser foot 36 may also conveniently be raised by depressing the said treadle. The sewing machine head includes such structure that the presser foot will be retained in its raised position until the hand lever 42 is moved upwardly to effect downward movenie"t of the presser foot, or automatic mechanism may be provided for effecting downward movement of the presser foot when actuation of the sewing head is started.

The bracket 41 is provided with an up wardly inclined portion 18 to which the sewing machine head is secured as shown in Fig. 1, the sewing head being thereby disposed at an angle of about 45 degrees to the vertical and horizontal, which angle has been found to facilitate the stitching together of a pair of sheets of material, one of which is osed in a vertical plane and the other of which is disposed in a substantially horizontal plane. The bracket 41 is secured to the upper end of a post 49. and the latter is seated in a recess provided in the upper end portion .30 of the auxiliary frame 45. The post #19 is clamped in the desired position of vertical adjustment in the said recess by means of a clamping plate 51, the latter being clamped against the adjacent side of the post 4-9 by means of bolts 52, 52, which extend through the plate and threadedly engage uitably threaded apertures provided in the said upper end portion 50 of the auxiliary frame. Hence, it will be seen that the sewin machine head 20 may be adjusted to the de n-ed position of vertical adjustment and. J securely locked. The auxiliary frame to is mounted adjacent its upper and lower ends on the main frame so that the auxilary and parts including the sewing inahead carried thereby are mo ablc around the periphery of the table 19. For so mounting the auxiliary frame, I provide the upper end of the auxiliaryframe with a bracket part 53 which carries a pair of horizontally spaced caster wheels 54, the latter being seated in the bottom of a trace groove 55 provided in a rail 56 which is se-' cured to the legs of the main frame and preferably located immediately below the tops thereof which extend outwardly to. form I flanges overlying the rail, as clearly shown inFigQ3. The caster wheels 5e are carriedv by arms:57 which are swivelly mounted on tubular members 58, the latter being carried by upper and lower bearing portions 59 and- 60, respectively, which constitute integral parts of the bracket part 53. Guide rollers 61, 61 are secured to or integral with the lower ends-of pintles 62, 62 that fit between the side walls of the trackgroove so that the upper portion of the auxiliary frame is hereby positioned against lateral outward or inward movement with respect to the main frame of -the'machine. The pintles 62 are rotatably mounted within the tubular members 58 and may be retained therein by means of keys such as shown at 63 in Fig. 5, which extend through slots provided in the respective tubular members 58- and enter grooves such as shown at 64 in the upper ends of the pintles 62. The caster rollers 5a and guide rollers 61 are obviously effective'to support and guide the upper end portion of the auxiliary frame. The track rail 56 with its track recess 55 extends around the main frame, as, clearly shown in Fig. 1, so that the auxiliary, frame may be propelled continuously around the main supporting frame 15. The lower end of the auxiliary frame is guided by means of a pair of spaced rollers 65 and 66 as shown in Fig. 3, which rollers are disposed on opposite sides of the vertical flange of an angle iron guide rail 67, the latter being supported by suitable brackets on the legs of the main frame and extending around the machine in substantially vertical alignment with the track recess 55 above described. The roll 65 is rotatably mounted on the outer end of a bracket 68 which is carried by the auxiliary frame 45, and the inner roll 66 is secured to the lower end of a shaft 69 which is rotatably mounted adjacent its lower end in the bracket 68 and adjacent its upper end in'a bearing bracket 7 O which is preferably formed integral with said auxiliary' frame. It will be readily understood that the weight of the auxiliary frame and parts secured thereto is supported by means of the caster rolls 54 and track rail 56. and that the auxiliary frame is guided in its movement around the main frame by the upper guide rolls 61 and lower guide rolls 65 and 66.

Means for driving or propelling the auxiliary frame and sewing machine head around the main frame and tab1e'19 includes a main driving shaft 71 which is rotatably mounted in a bearing 72 provided in the main frame and in bearings 7 3. and 74c which are provided in brackets 75 and 76, respectively, which are secured to the said auxiliary frame. A power unit, preferably an electric motor 77, is mounted on a shelf-like portion 78 of the auxiliary frame for driving the main drive shaft 71. The motor shaft is provided with high and low speed pulleys 79 and 80, respectively. Belts 81 and 82 extend around the high and low motor shaft pulleys respectively, and also around the high and low speed pulleys provided on the main shaft 71. There are two low speed pulleys on the main shaft, one being indicated at 83 which is secured to the shaft 71, and the other being indicated at 84; which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 71. Similarly, there are two high speed pulleys on the main sh aft 71, one being indicated at 85 which is secured to the said shaft, and the other being indicated at 86 which is rotatable on said shaft. Mechanism which I will hereinafter describe is provided for controlling the belts 81 and 82, so that they are either both disposed on the idle high or low speed pulley, or one on an idle pulley while the other is on a fixed pulley so that the shaft is accordingly rotated.

A worm gear 87 is secured to the shaft 71 intermediate the bearings 72 and 7 4:, and meshes with a worm wheel 88 which is secured to the shaft 69. Hence it will be seen that the shaft 69 is connected to the shaft 71 and that it may be rotated at high or low speeds. The upper end of the shaft 69 is rovided with a clutch member 89 which is eyed to the shaft against rotation but so as to permit axial movement thereof. A second clutch member 90 is rotatably mounted on the upper end of the shaft in cooperative relation to the fixed clutch member 89, and a pinion 91 is secured to the hub of the free clutch member 90 so as to rotate therewith when the later is operatively connected to thefixed clutch member 89. The pinion 91 meshes with a rack 92 which is secured to the bottom of the track rail 56 in any suitable manner. The rack 92 extends around the main frame so that the pinion 91 will remain in mesh therewith throughout the travel of the auxiliary frame around the said main frame. lVhen the m0- tor 77 is energized, the shaft 71 may be rotated by engaging the belt 81 or 82 with its corresponding fixed pulley on the shaft 71, and the pinion 91 is normally operatively connected to the shaft through the agency of the clutch members so that the auxiliary frame and sewing machine head will be propelled around the main frame and table 19. A spring 93 interposed between the lower end of the hub of the fixed clutch member 89 and the adjacent end of the bearing 70 for the shaft 69 serves to normally hold the clutch members in operative engagement.

The clutch part 89 may be disengaged from the clutch part 90 by means of a lever 94 .LLLO

which is secured at its inner end to a shaft which is journaled. in suitable bearings 96, 96 provided as an integral part of the auxiliary frame 45. The shaft 95 carries a forked bracket member 97 which embraces the hub of the keyed clutch member 89, and is provided with pins or rollers 98, 98 which fit in a groove 99 provided in the said clutch hub. It will be seen that by raising the outer end of the lever 94, the outer ends of the forked member 97 will be swung downward ly so as to move the clutch member 89 downwardly out of engagement with the clutch part 90 against the pressure of the spring 93. A stub shaft or handle 100 is secured to the auxiliary frame in position. overlying the outer end of the lever 94 so as to afford convenient means for manually operating the lever 94. When the clutch members are disengaged, as above described, the auxiliary frame and the parts carried thereby may be moved or shifted along the periphery of the table 19 independently of the driving mechanism. This constitutes a desirable feature in that it is sometimes necessary to stitch a certain part of the mattress ticking elements a second time due to numerous causes, such as running off of the sewing machine. The sewing machine proper may conveniently be actuated by means of a belt 101 which passes around a pulley 102 secured to the outer end of the main drive shaft 71 and around pulleys 103, 104 and 105 which are mounted on the sewing machine head, and of which pulleys, the pulley 104 may be secured to the driving shaft of the sewing machine.

\Vhen the sewing machine is. stationary, both of the belts 81 and 82 are in engagement with the idle pulleys 84 and 86, respectively, as shown in Fig. 7. For starting the machine, the belt 82 is shifted from the idle pulley 86' on to the fixed, high speed pulley 85, while the belt 81 remains in engagement with the idle, low speed pulley 84. Shifting levers 106 and 107 are pivotally mounted on a bracket member 108 for controlling the belts 82 and 81 respectively. The shifting levers 106' and 107 are each provided with forked ends which embrace the respective belts, and the said levers are connected together by means of links 109 and 110 which are pivotally connected at their ends intermediate the said shifting levers. The levers 109 and 110 constitute a toggle link structure which is adapted to be Controlled by means of a link 11'1 pivotally connected at one end to the connected ends of the links 109 and 110-and at its other end to a rock lever 112 which is'pivotally secured intermediate its ends to a bracket 108. The rock lever 112 may conveniently be controlled by means of push rods 113 and 114 which are slidably mounted in apertured bosses provided on the bracket 108 as shown in' Fig. 6, and the outer ends of which rods are provided with comparatively large heads or disks 115 and 116 respectively. The beltshifting mechanism, including'the heads 115 and 116, are preferably located so that the operator of the machine may conveniently press either of the heads inwardly by engaging the same with his knee. A spring 117 is connected under tension between the shifting lever 107 and a part of the auxiliary frame, as clearly shown in Figs. 6 and 7 Assuming that the parts are in idle position as shown in Fig. 7, the machine is started by pressing in the rod 114, whereby the toggle links are straightened from the position shown in Fig. 7 to the position shown in Fig. 6. The spring 117 holds the lever 107 in stationary position so that the straightening of the toggle links is effective to shift the lever 106 to the left so that the belt 82 is shifted from engagement with the idle pulley 86 to engagement with the high speed pulley 85.

The machine may be stopped by pressing in the rod 113 which serves to buckle the toggle links, the operation being substantially the reverse of that above described for starting the machine. I also prefer to provide brake mechanism which will quickly stop the machine when the belt is shifted from the operating pullev to the idle pulley.

This mechanism includes a suitable bracket which, in the present instance, consists of a slotted rod 118. which is slidably mounted in one leg 119 of a bracket 120 which is carried by the bracket 75. The slotted rod is provided at its outer end with an enlarged head to which a layer of friction material indicated at 121 is secured, the latter being adapted to engage the web of the low speed pulley 83, as clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The bracket member 118 is normally urged into engagement with the web of the pulley by means of a spring 122 which is disposed around a reduced shank portion 123 of the slotted rod part 118 and compressed between the shoulder 124 on the brake member and. the end of an adjusting screw 125. The adjusting screw 125 is apertured to slidably receive the shank 123 and is exteriorly threaded to engage a threaded aperture in the leg 126 of the bracket 120. By turning the adjusting screw 125, it will be understood that the compression of the spring may be adjusted. to effect the desired degree of friction between the friction head 121 and the web of the pulley 83'. When the machine is in oporation, the bracket member is held out of contact with the web of the pulley by means of a wedge 127 which passes through the slot in the brake rod 118 and engages the rod at the end of the slot, as shown at 128. The wedge 127 iscarried by a rod 129 which is pivotally connected to the rock lever 112 so: that when the starting button or head is pressed inwardly, the wedge is forced inwardly to move the bracket out of contact with the pulley Web against the pressure of the spring 122.

In some instances, I find it desirable to slow down the speed of travel of the auxiliary frame and sewing machine head and also the stitching speed of the sewing machine at predetermined zones in the path of travel of the sewing machine head, this being often desirable where the sewing machine head '1 travels around the rounded corner portion of the mattress. For effecting such retarded operation, I provide means for simultaneously shifting the belts 81 and 82 from their normal position when the machine is operating at high speed to a position wherein the belt 82 passes around the idle pulley 86 and the belt 81 passes around the slow speed pulley 83. The mechanism is, of course, such that the pulleys are shifted back to their normal operating' position automatically when the slow speed zone is passed. This retarding mechanismincludes cams such as indicated at 130, secured to'the bottom of the track rail 56 inside of the rack 92. The cams 130 are provided with bevelled ends and these cams are adapted to engage the upper end of a cam rod 131 which is vertically sl-idably mounted in a bearing 132 provided on the auxiliary frame, the lower end of said cam rod being 'ivotally connected to one arm of a bell crank 133. The bell crank 133 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends, as shown at 134, on a bracket part 135, and the outer end of the other arm of the bell crank is pivotally connected, as shown at 136, to the adjacent end of a link 137, the other end of which is pivotally connected to the belt-shifting lever 106, as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Assuming that the machine is in operation, when the rod- 131 engages one of the cams 130 and is depressed thereby, the link 137 will be shifted in the direction indicated by the arrow 138 in Fig. 6, thereby swinging the belt-shifting lever 106 from the position shown in 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7, so that the belt 82 is moved off of the high speed pulley 85 and on to the idle pulley 86. By an inspection of Fig. 6, it will be apparent that the toggle links 109 and 110 are in such overthe-center position that the shifting movement of the lever 106 will be transmitted to the shifting lever 107, whereby the belt 81 will be moved from engagement with the idle pulley 84 to operative engagement with the low speed pulley 83; hence the sewing machine will be propelled at a lower speed. The stitching speed of the sewing machine will also be reduced, since the sewing machine is actuated by the belt 101 which is driven by the shaft 71 through the agency of the pulley 102, it being understood that the shaft 71 also serves to propel the sewing machine around the mattress-supporting table through the agency of the hereinbefore described gearand-clutch mechanism. When the cam rod 131 passes the cam 130, the spring 117 is effective to restore the shifting levers 106 and 107 to their normal position, as shown in Fig. 6. Pivotal movement of the levers 106 and 107 is limited by means of stop pins 138 which are adapted to engage tail pieces 106' and 107 of the levers 106 and 107, respectively.

The mattress structure which the abovedescribed machine is particularly intended to operate on is of the construction often referred to as the Marshall construction. This mattress construction includes a center filling 140 which consists of a plurality of coil springs encased in a suitable fabric covering, each of the springs being contained in a separate pocket which will prevent contacting of the adjacent springs. The center filling 140 is covered on its top and bottom faces by means of a thickness of padding 141 and 142, and the sides of the filling are covered by means of a thickness of padding 143. Top and bottom face sheets 144 and 145 overlie the padding thicknesses 141 and 142 respectively, and a border strip of ticking 146 is disposed outside of the side padding strip 143. Vihen these parts are assembled, the edges of the top and bottom face sheets of ticking 144 and 145, respectively, are stitched to the adjacent edges of the border strip 146, a binding or finishing tape 147 being disposed over the edge portions, as shown in Fig. 11. The marginal edge portions of ticking parts which are enclosed in the finishing tape are preferably hemmed, as clearly shown in Fig. 11, so that the said edges are comparatively firm, thereby facilitating the carrying out of an operation which I am about to describe. 8

The sewing machine head 20 is provided with means for feeding and longitudinally folding a strip of the said finishing tape 147 into position embracing the adjacent edges of the respective face sheets of ticking and border strip, the finishing strip being drawn from a supply roll 148 which is carried by a support 149, the latter being secured to a bracket 150, as shown in'Figs. 1 and 2. The folding means includes a device indicated at 155, which is in the form of a tubular memher flattened out at its entrance end, as shown at 156, to receive, and only slightly curve crosswise, the strip of tape 147. The delivery end of the device is bent, as shown at 157, so as to deliver the tape strip in U-form. The delivery end 157 is also beveled, that is, disposed at an angle other than a right angle to the length of the folder, for a purpose which will presently appear. The folder 155 is secured to the sewing machine head through the agency of a lug 158, as shown in 3, and is positioned so that its length extends crosswise of the direction of movement of the sewing machine and crosswise of the marginal edge portions of the ticking parts to be sewed together.

The delivery end 157 of the tape-folding device is beveled, as clearly shown in Figs. 12 and 14, and the U-shaped strip of tape delivered by the device is bent at substantially ninety degrees to the length of the folder, and then passed through the U-shaped end part 159 of the folder in the manner best shown in Fig. 14. The U-shaped end part 159 constitutes a guide for facilitating accurate positioning of the hemmed marginal edge portions of the ticking parts, which are to be united, between the folds of the tape strip. The marginal portions of the ticking strip may be brought into position either manually or automatically. In the present case, I contemplate doing this by manual means, and therefore have not shown mechanism for effecting such positioning.

Form an inspection of Fig. 14, it will be readily understood that the tape strip is folded to U-shape and then bent over the beveled delivery end of the folder, at substantially right angles to its length, the bent portion then passing through the U-shaped guide end portion 159 of the folder. The hemmed marginal edge portions are brought together and positioned between the folds of the tape in said guide 159. IVhen the sewing machine is actuated, the needle and needle bar 160, located in back of the folder 158, are operative to sew together the hemmed marginal ticking portions between the folds of the tape, the line of stitching passing through the said folds and extending longitudinally thereof and preferably inside of the hemmed edges of the ticking parts.

The folder is preferably slotted, as shown at 161, to facilitate insertion of the tape, which may be accomplished by inserting the tape sidewise through the slot with comparative ease. Thus the difiiculty of passing the tape endwise through the folder, when preparing the machine for operation, is overcome. In operation, the tape will be drawn from the supply roll 148 when the sewing machine is propelled around the mattress, due to anchoring by stitching of the starting end of the tape to the marginal edge portions of the ticking parts. Other means may of course be provided for feeding the tape from the supply roll, but I have found it satisfactory to depend merely on the anchoring of the starting end of the tape and the travel of the sewing machine.

In operation, a mattress filling 140 is placed on the vertically adjustable table 19, the latter being in its uppermost position, and a layer of padding 141 disposed over said filling. The face sheet of ticking material 144 is placed over the layer of padding and the border padding and border ticking strip 143 are properly positioned relative to said filling, padding and ticking sheet. If desired, these parts may conveniently be temporarily held in place relative to each other by any suitable means, such as, for instance, clips, as indicated at 151 in Fig. 1, the clips being spaced around the periphery of the mattress, as is necessary to facilitate the sewing operation.

The sewing machine is then actuated to sew together the adjacent edge portions of the face sheet 144 of ticking and the border (1. strip 146 and to apply the finishing tape 147. When the face sheet 144 has been thus stitched to the adjacent edge of the border strip 146 around the entire periphery of the mattress, the table 19 is lowered and the mattress structure inverted. Then the other layer of padding 142 is disposed over the upper side of the unfinished mattress and the face sheet of ticking 145 placed over the said layer of padding 142. The sewing machine is again actuated to stitch together the adjacent edges of the face sheet 145 of ticking and border strip 146 of ticking.

It will be readily understood that the vertically adjustable table structure facilitates the use of a single machine for sewing together both sides of the mattress structure without adjusting the sewing machine head, which adjustment would necessarily involve more difficulty than the adj ustment of the table because of the greater amount of mechanism involved in effecting such an adjustment of the sewing machine head.

It is, of course, to be understood that the machine is not limited to use in connection with mattresses of the Marshall construction type such as I have above referred to. Obviously, other forms of mattress construction may also be sewed together by my improved machine.

I am aware that changes may be made in the form, construction, arrangement and proportion of parts of my improved machine without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed asbroadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame, a vertically adjustable, two-position table mounted on said main frame for supporting amattress structure so as to facilitate stitching of the edges of the top and bottom face sheets of ticking to the adjacent edge of the border strip of ticking, means for mounting said table on said frame so as to permit vertical adjustment thereof into raised. or lowered position, said mounting means including a plurality of arms interconnected for unitary movement and pivoted to said table and frame, said arms being operative to effect sub- V v stantially parallel upward movement of the entire table as an incident to lifting force applied to any selected part of the table, a sewing machine mounted on said main frame so as to be movable around the periphery of said table for effecting said stitching, and means for actuating and propelling said sewing machine around said table, said table when in its uppermost position being adapted to support a mattress structure including the filling, a border strip of ticking, a layer of padding over the top of said filling, and a face sheet of ticking disposed over said padding while said sewing machine is actuated to stitch together said face sheet and border strip, said table when in its lowermost position being adapted to support said parts in inverted position with a layer of padding disposed over the uncovered side of said filling, and a second face sheet of ticking disposed over said last-mentioned layer of padding, said sewing machine being then operable to stitch said second face sheet to the adjacent edge of said border strip.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame, a vertically adjustable two-position table mounted on said main frame for supporting a mattress structure so as to facilitate stitching of the edges of the top and bottom face sheets of ticking to the adjacent edges of the border strip of ticking, means for mounting said table on said frame so as to permit manual vertical adjustment thereof into raised or lowered position, said mounting means comprising a pair of bell cranks pivotally mounted intermediate the outer ends of their arms on said main frame, respectively located adjacent opposite side portions of said table, one arm of each of said bell cranks being pivotally connected at its outer end to said table and the other arms being connected together so as to cause said bell cranks to move in unison about their pivots, thereby to effect preliminary vertical movement of said table as an incident to lifting force applied to any selected marginal portion of said table, releasable locking means for locking said table in uppermost position of adjustment, a sewing machine mounted on said main frame so as to be movable around the periphery of said table for effecting said stitching, and means for actuating and propelling said sewing machine around said table, said table when in its uppermost position being adapted to support a mattress structure including the filling, a border strip of ticking, a layer of padding over the top of said filling, and a face sheet of ticking disposed over said padding While said sewing machine is actuated to stitch together said face sheet and border strip, said table when in its lowermost position being adapted to support said parts in inverted position with a layer of padding disposed over the uncovered side of said filling, and a second face sheet of ticking disposed over said last-mentioned layer of padding, said sewing machine being then operable to stitch said second face sheet to the adjacent edge of said border strip.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a main frame, a vertically and adjustable two-position table mounted on frame for supporting a mattress structure so as to facilitate stitching of the top and bottom face sheets of ticking to the adj'acentedges of the border strip of ticking, a sewing machine mounted on said main frame so as to be vertically stationary and horizontally movable around the periphery of said table, means for actuating and propelling said sewing machine around said table so as to stitch said ticking portions together, said table When in its uppermost position being adapted to support a mattress structure including a filling, a border strip of ticking, a layer of padding over the top of said filling, and one of said face sheets disposed over said padding, said sewing machine being then operable to stitch together said face sheet and border strip, and said table when in lowermost position being adapted to support said parts in inverted position, with a second layer of padding disposed over the then upper side of said filling, and a second face sheet of ticking overlying said second layer of padding, said sewing machine being then operable in the same position of vertical adj ustment to stitch together said second face sheet and said border strip.

JOHN F. GAIL. 

